8/4/2019 Fallacies Quick Reference Card

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Mental Anti-Virus CardDismiss the arbitrary, remove contradictions, achieve more certainty.

The Top Fallacies

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TRIVIUM EDUCATION

Get more tools of intellectual self defense:

Against the Man(Ad Hominem)

Attacking the speaker instead of his argument.

Appeal to Authority(Ad Verecundiam)

Basing an argument on an irrelevant, vague or dubious authority.

Appeal to Emotion Persuading by emotion rather than reason.

Appeal to Force(Ad Baculum)

Persuading by coercion or threat.

Appeal to Ignorance(Ad Ignorantiam)

It must be true because it hasnt been proved false; or false because ithasnt be proved true.

Appeal to Pity

(Ad Misericordiam)It must be true because boo hoo hoo.

Appeal to the Masses

(Ad Populum)It must be true because its popular.

Appeal to Ridicule It must be true because ha ha ha.

Appeal to Tradition It must be true because weve always done it that way.

CompositionWhats true for the individual part of a whole is true for the entire wholeform.

Division Whats true for the entire whole form is true for each of its individual parts.

False Alternative Offering only two options while omitting other relevant, viable options.

False Cause (Post Hoc)Establishing a causal relationship from correlati on or timing, withoutsufficient proof.

Hasty Generalization Generalizing from an unrepresentative sample.

Middle Ground The extremes are wrong, but the middle (mean) is correct.

Red Herring Diverting an argument by changing the topic.

Selective Evidence Selectively omitting pertinent evidence.

Slippery Slope Asserting, without sufficient proof, a chain of events.

Straw Man Refuting an argument by attacking a weaker version of it.